


fool’s paradise

by orphan_account



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, M/M, Other, Sad, Strexcorp, give kevin a break, kevin deserves better, more about Kevin’s backstory and how StrexCorp changed him, no happy ending, not focused on relationship, oopsies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They all started flooding back. All the memories. Slowly but surely, he started to feel like himself again. He knew he’d never really recover. He was wounded. He had scars. But he was optimistic again.
Relationships: Carlos/Kevin (Welcome to Night Vale)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	fool’s paradise

They all started flooding back.

All the memories. Memories of before. Before StrexCorp, before they changed him. He didn’t know who he was anymore. He thought he was happy, but it wasn’t real. It was a mask, a smile StrexCorp painted on his face. He was happy before StrexCorp, or at least not unhappy. He was _optimistic_. It was hard to be happy, but he was determined to get there. 

Slowly but surely, he started to feel like himself again. He knew he’d never really recover. He was wounded. He had scars.

But he was optimistic again. He rebuilt Desert Bluffs - the home he used to know, where he believed in community and wanted everyone to be happy. This new Desert Bluffs was flawed, but it was his _new_ home. 

He liked Carlos. He liked Carlos a lot. Carlos was _real_ and Carlos was his friend. He hadn’t had a real friend for a long time.

Maybe he did get attached. Maybe he should have been more cautious. But he was _excited_. He had lived for so long being surrounded by fake people and their fake smiles. He finally had someone who actually cared about him.

And maybe he shouldn’t have let himself develop those kinds of feelings. The ones that gave you butterflies, the ones that make you feel woozy. That make you feel happy.

But he wanted to be happy. So, so desperately. He wanted romance. It seemed so nice.

Sure, it was unrealistic. Carlos was dating Cecil and they were so _cute_ , so deliriously, _disgustingly_ in _love_. He just let himself dream a little bit. Maybe a lot. Maybe he got optimistic. Maybe Carlos paid attention to him and it made him giddy. 

Carlos came into the radio station with a paper and Kevin was so excited to see him, to see what he had discovered. But he hadn’t discovered anything. The paper was a letter. 

“Oh, I love letters!” Kevin had chirped. “Letters are so fun to receive!”

Carlos gave a sad hum. Kevin’s smile fell. “Not this one. It’s a sad letter. A letter about regrets, about mistakes.”

And he had left to go to Night Vale and he would be back, right? Kevin was sure he would be back.

Carlos left the paper there and surely it wasn’t meant for Kevin but he gave in to temptation and slid out of his chair. He plucked the paper off of the counter and unfolded it.

Slowly, Kevin sunk down, sitting on the floor with his back to the counter. His hands shook, the paper trembling. It was a sad letter. Black tears stained the paper. Kevin didn’t like sad things.

And he finally realized that he really could be sad. His entire life, Kevin had hid behind a smile, even before Strex. He wanted everyone around him to be happy, and in order for that to happen, he had to be happy first. 

But life was so, so hard, he realized. He wanted a break. He wanted Carlos back. He wanted his friend back. He wanted someone who cared.

Carlos’ words echoed in his head. _You know how sometimes you spend a lot of time with someone and you think that someone makes you happy, but then suddenly, one day, you realize, maybe, you weren’t happy at all?_ His world spun.

He felt himself falling down, falling into a bottomless hole.

He wanted to be saved. 

**Author's Note:**

> //let me know if i should write a part two :)


End file.
